Mouth-prop.



PATENTED MAY 26, 1908.

J. L. GEHORSAM.

MOUTH PROP.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 6, 1908.

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ATTORNEY THE NORRIS PETERS co., WASHINGTON, n c.

"UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

.IUDAH LEONARD GEHORSAM, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MOUTH-PROP.

Application filed February 5, 1908.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JUDAH LEONARD GE- HORSAM, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing in borough of Brooklyn, city of New York, in the'countyof Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Imrovements in Mouth-Props, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a prop or instrument for holding open themouthof a patient during a surgical operation performed in the mouth orthroat.

In using mouth or jaw props as heretofore constructed, it often happensthat after the patients mouth is opened and the prop is fixed inposition, the patients mouth will yield still farther, and inconsequence, the prop will loosen and dangle about, thus proving aserious annoyance and even a source of danger where a delicate operationis being performed, for instance in the throat of the patient.

One of the' principal objects of my invention is to overcome thisdifficulty, and to this end I have constructed a jaw prop which willautomatically 0 on itself to follow the movement of the patients jawsduring the further relaxation thereof as the operation within the mouthprogresses so that there is no danger of the prop becoming loose andswinging about and distracting the surgeon. I further provide means forautomatically locking the jaws of the instrument at any point to whichthey may open themselves under the circumstances recited.

The means for causing the jaws to be selfopening may be in the form of aspring coiled around the pivot of the jaws of the instrument andextending along the jaws to bear thereon and tensioned to separate them.I

further provide means for locking the jaws normally closed, so that theymay be conveniently manipulated while introducing them between the jawsof the patient, this locking means being however releasable at the willof thesurgeon.

Upon the tips of the jaws of the instrument, I provide pads to engagethe teeth of the patient, said pads preferably in the form of lead orother soft disks swiveled upon the tips of the instrument, so as topermit the latter to be swung to one side after it has been openedbetween the jaws of the patient, the swlveling of the pads insuring theteeth against injury while the instrument is being Specification ofLetters Patent.

Patented May 26, 1908.

Serial No. 414,291.

swung to one side. When the instrument is closed, the pads preferablyare inclined to each other to form a wedge-like arrangement forconvenience in introducing between the patients jaws.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of asurgical j'aw prop constructed in accordance with my improvements andpartly open.v Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the instrument,which is illustrated as holding the patients jaws open, and also asswung to one side to be out of the way of the surgeon. Fig. 3 is a planshowing the instrument in place in the mouth of the patient, only thelower jaw of thepatient being illustrated. The dotted lines show howtheinstrumentrnay be swung to one side after the jaws of the patient havebeen opened thereby. Fig. 4 illustrates the manner of introducing thetip of the instrument between the jaws of the patient. v

The mouth prop comprises aws l, 2 pivloted together at 3 and havinghandles 4, 5,

which are pressed together to 0 en the aws 1, 2. The latter are formedwlth flattened tips 6, 7, upon which are swiveled lead or likeconstruction for convenience in inser;

tion between the upper and lower teeth of the patient, Fig. 4.

After the insertion of the instrument, the handles 4, 5 are forcedtowards each other to open the aws of the patient. This operation isconveniently performed with the instru ment in a position shown in fulllines in the plan at Fig. 3; and then the instrument is swung around tothe dotted line position where it is out of theway of the sur eon. Thejaws 1 and 2 are bowed to leave a arg'e opening to give access to thepatients mouth as at Fig. 2. If the patients jaws should further relax,a spring 11, coiled about the pivot 3 of the instrument and having ends12,

13 lying within the hollow jaws 1 and 2, and tensioned to press thelatter a art, will cause the jaws to open automatical y to follow theexcessive opening movement of the patients jaws, so that the instrumentdoes not become loose.

A ratchet 14 is pivoted at 15 to the handle 5 and provided with fineteeth 16 to engage the edge 17 of a hole 18 in the handle 4, the

ratchet projecting through said hole and being pulled by a s ring 19 tocause the teeth 16 to engage saic edge 17. The function of the ratchetis to lock the jaws 1, 2 open at any position to which they may be setby either the handles 4., 5 or the spring 11. It will be seen that thejaws 1, 2 are selfopen ing by reason of the spring 11 and self-lockingby reason of the ratchet 14 and spring 19. I provide also for lockingthe jaws 1, 2 closed in the Fig. 4 position, this being accomplished bymeans of a jog or tooth 20 formed upon the end of the ratchet 14, tocatch on the inner side, of the edge 17 when the handles 4, 5 are pulledwide apart, thereby locking the handles in that position, and the jawsin the Fig. 4 position, as will be understood. A fingerpiece 21 forinedu on the end of the ratchet wheel may be pulled back by the surgeonafter the introduction of the instrument, as at Fig. 4, therebyreleasing the handles 4, 5 to permit them to be pressed towards eachother.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, andportions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A mouth prop comprising a pair of jaws, a pair of handles connectedthereto, a spring tensioned to open said jaws to follow the involuntaryopening of the mouth of the patient, and means to automatically lock thejaws open at any position to which they are moved by said spring.

2. A mouth rop comprising a pair of jaws, a pair of hand es connectedthereto, a spring tensioned to open said jaws to follow the involuntaryopening of the mouth of the patient, and a finetoothed springpressedratchet connected to the jaws to hold them open.

8. A mouth prop comprising a pair of jaws, a pair of handles connectedthereto, a spring tensioned to open said jaws to follow the involuntaryo ening of the mouth of the patient, and re easable means to lockthe awsin closed position.

4. A mouth prop comprising a pair of jaws, a pair of handles connectedthereto, a spring tensioned to open said jaws to follow the involuntaryopening of the mouth of the patient, and a fine-toothed spring-pressedratchet connected to the jaws to hold them open, said ratchet alsoprovided with a tooth to hold the jaws closed, and a finger piece torelease the jaws.

5. A mouth rop comprising a pair of jaws, a pair of hand es connectedthereto, a spring tensioned to open said jaws to follow the involuntaryopening of the mouth of the patient, a spring tooth to hold the jawsclosed, and a finger-piece to release the jaws.

6. A mouth rop comprising a pair of aws, a pair of handies connectedthereto, a spring tensioned to open said jaws to follow the involuntaryopening of the mouth of the patient, means to lock the jaws in closedposition, and a finger-piece to release the jaws.

7. A mouth prop comprising a pair of selfopening and self-locking jawshaving portions to engage the upper and lower teeth or jaws of thepatient.

8. A mouth pro comprising a pair of selfopening and selfocking jawshaving portions to engage the upper and lower teeth or jaws of thepatient; releasable means being also provided to lock the jaws of theinstrument together for insertion into the mouth of the patient.

9. A mouth prop comprising a pair of jaws each having a tooth-padswiveled thereon to admit of the instrument being swung to one sidewhile it holds open the jaws of the patient; said tooth-pads in the formof disks pivoted upon flat tips formed upon the jaws and arranged faceto face, and a spring tensioned to open said aws to follow theinvoluntary opening of the mouth of the patient.

10. A mouth prop comprising a pair of jaws each having a tooth-padswiveled thereon to admit of the instrument being swung to one sidewhile it holds open the jaws of the patient; said tooth-pads in the formof disks pivoted upon flat tips formed upon the jaws and arranged faceto face, and a spring tensioned to open said jaws to follow theinvoluntary opening of the mouth of the patient, and means toautomatically lock the jaws of the instrument open at any position towhich they are moved by said spring.

11. A mouth prop comprising a pair of self-o ening and self-locking jawshaving swive ed pads to engage the upper and lower teeth or jaws of thepatient. A

J. LEONARD GEHORSAM.

Witnesses:

JoHN O. SEIFERT, K. FRANKFURT.

